Last few days before work starts
Trip Start
Aug 13, 2007
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21
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Trip End
Dec 31, 2008
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Wellington,
New Zealand
Tuesday, September 18, 2007
In the afternoon we went on the train back to Porirua via a stop at Takapu Road to go to Dress Smart, the smallest outlet shopping centre I've ever been to. We were on the lookout for some decent work clothes for me, and did manage to get a pair of trousers, but nothing else though. In Porirua, there wasn't much about in the way of clothes either so it was a bit of a wasted journey.
In the evening we ate at the Hogs Breath Cafe and I tried one of their cocktails called Hogswash (Blue Curacao, Vodka, Peach Schnapps and Pineapple Juice), which was very good!
Our first weekend in Wellington was a busy one. On Saturday we got up at 7am to watch the England v South Africa rugby. Really wish we hadn't bothered as they were rubbish. However, after that finished, as our shopping trip had been so unsuccessful on the Friday, we were off again, on the bus, to the Queensgate shopping centre in Lower Hutt. This was much more productive and after a couple of hours I had enough clothes to keep me going for the moment.
After a couple of hours rest at the hostel we were back out to the Downstage Theatre at 8pm to watch Who Needs Sleep Anyway.
Wellington Zoo
It was written to celebrate 100 years of Plunket, which as far as I can tell is a child health services organisation. The play centred on bringing up a baby but also gave some history about the Plunket organisation. I wasn't sure what to expect, and didn't think Graham would enjoy it that much, but it was really really funny and we both thoroughly enjoyed it.Our night didn't stop there though, as the All Blacks were playing at 11pm. We went to the Sports cafe and managed to get seats (it was only 10pm). We were lucky though as by 10.30pm the place was packed. It was a really good atmosphere and we watched the 1st half in there before walking back up to the hostel and catching most of the 2nd half in the TV room. By the end we were both really tired, as it was now 1am!
On Sunday, after a much needed lie in we walked to Wellington Zoo, which takes about 30mins from the hostel. It's a very compact zoo, and so you only need a morning or an afternoon to go round it. Did meet a one legged kiwi though, called Tahia. Its leg was caught in a trap, and the zoo tried fitting an artificial leg but Tahia didn't take to it, so now he hops about whilst foraging for food.
On Monday, the weather was finally nice enough (blue skies and sunshine) to go and do the Red Rocks Coastal Walk. We caught the number 1 bus to Island Bay and then had a 2km walk to the start of the walk at the old quarry carpark at Owhiro Bay.
Capuchin Monkeys
The walk follows the coastline from the quarry to the seal colony at Sinclair Head, just past the Red Rocks. During the May to October/November, the male New Zealand fur seals go there from the West Coast of the South Island, to gain condition for the coming breeding season. The Red Rocks were formed about 200 million years ago during submarine volcanic eruptions. The lava outflows contained iron oxide which is responsible for the red colour of the rocks. Alternatively, the Maori legends offer two explanations for the colour. The blood from Maui's nose stained the rocks when he used his own blood to bait his hook before hauling up the North Island. The rocks are also associated with the legend of Kupe. In one story, Kupe cut his hand on a paua shell and stained the rocks. In another, Kupe's daughters cut themselves in mourning when they gave their father up for dead. (information supplied by the Red Rocks Coastal Walk factsheet).
The walk to Sinclair Head is approx 4km one way, and takes around 2hrs return. After we finished the walk, we headed back to Island Bay. There is a lovely cafe about 15mins from the Quarry carpack called The Bach, and we stopped here for some lunch.
In the afternoon we went to Turners Auction in Gracefield, a car auction. We had to catch the train to Woburn station and then walk for 20mins. However, we only had a vague idea of where this auction was being held so we walked around in the general direction for a while before getting directions. We weren't too far away so we managed to get there in plenty of time to have a couple of test drives before the auction started.
Cotton Top Tamarin
We hadn't really done any research on the cars so we only bid on one car, but we didn't win. However, there is another auction on Thursday night so we will view the cars online beforehand and decide whether we are interested in any of them. They have different auctions depending on the price you want to pay. We are only interested in the budget auction (cars under $6000) but they have other auctions as well, and not only cars.
Eventually we made it back to the hostel on very tired legs, as we had probably walked around 15km in the whole day!
Tuesday, my last day before starting work was spent relaxing in the morning, after the last few days had involved a lot of walking, and my legs were feeling tired! After a lunch of ham sandwiches we went out to the shops. Graham was looking for a suit, and I went to visit a gym to see the facilities, as well as to buy a handbag as mine decided to break last week. After meeting Paul (who was in Wellington for work) for a quick drink, we headed off to Courtenay Place to watch Hairspray at the cinema. I really enjoyed it but Graham wasn't impressed. I guess musicals are more of a girly thing but he made me see Die Hard 4 last week so it's only fair.
Well, I guess entries will be a bit less often now as we get slowly settled, but will keep you posted on how our visa process goes, once we decide which route to take. My job doesn't count as ongoing employment as it's less than 12 months, but we'll see what job Graham gets and decide what to do from there. We've had all sorts of advice, all different, from the agencies, and so we'll see what happens in the next few weeks and then decide how to proceed.
One thing I have to do as a contractor, is set aside some of my wages for tax, so I'm waiting for a reply from the IRD to find out what my tax rate is, and then each time I get paid, I'll transfer the appropriate amount into a savings account. Also, once you earn $40,000 you then have to pay GST. I'm a bit confused about this at the moment, but I basically get paid an hourly rate plus GST from the agency, but they hold onto the GST until I hit the threshold and then they'll pay the GST, or pay me and I'll pay the taxman the GST? Apparently they'll let me know when I'm getting close to the limit and then I'll have to become GST registered. It's a lot more complicated than the UK system, that's for sure!
